Plattsburgh postal facility to close, WRJ to stay open

Plant on closure list since February

The White River Junction mail sorting facility will remain open, but the Plattsburgh facility will close, its operations consolidated to Albany, the Postal Service announced Thursday.

The agency had planned to close more than 250 of its facilities, but shortened the list after widespread opposition.

A self-imposed moratorium on potential closures within its mail processing network ended Tuesday.

The consolidations will reduce 28,000 positions nationwide, a representative with the Postal Service said. The agency also said it has 150,000 employees who are retirement eligible.

In December, the Postal Service announced plans to close and consolidate 252 of its mail processing and distribution centers.

In April, the agency released a list of centers that could remain open. It included the sorting facilities in White River Junction and Plattsburgh.

That same month, the Senate passed legislation finding new revenue streams for the service. The bill also pays the agency back billions of dollars in pre-payments for future retirement and health benefits.

The bill is currently in the House.

On a conference call, a postal service representative said he hoped the legislation would pass so these plans could move forward.

The Postal Service notified its employees of the changes at its facilities across the country Wednesday night.

“Vermonters will continue to receive the best mail service possible and 245 workers and their families will continue to work, live and contribute to our local community,” said Bill Creamer, president of the White River Junction chapter of the National Postal Handlers' Union. “To everyone who fought with us, and for our Postal Service here at home in Vermont, please accept a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ from myself and all of the members of Local 301.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., agreed.

“I think the Postal Service got the message," Sanders said. “I think the legislation that we passed in the Senate a few weeks ago showed the Postmaster General that the draconian cuts that he was talking about, in terms of processing plants and rural post offices, was just not acceptable.”

“It has been our privilege to serve our community, and we look forward to the honor of serving Vermont and our country for years to come,'" Creamer said.

The agency plans to close 48 sorting plants this summer. No plants will close between September and December due to the election and holiday season.

“We simply do not have the mail volumes to justify the size and capacity of our current mail processing network. To return to long-term profitability and financial stability while keeping mail affordable, we must match our network to the anticipated workload,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “Our current plan meets our cost reduction goals, ensures seamless and excellent service performance throughout the implementation period, and provides adequate time for our customers to adapt to our network changes.”

Phase One of planned closures – which includes the plant in Plattsburgh -- will continue in January 2013, totaling 140 closures. A second phase of closures will continue in 2014 with 89 closures.

Overnight Mail sent and received in a local area will continue to be delivered the next day, a Postal Service representative said.

The agency has closed more than 200 mail processing locations since 2006. About 250,000 employees have accepted buyouts since 2000, the agency said.

This latest consolidation plan will save the Postal Service $2.1 billion.

Stay with NewsChannel 5 and wptz.com as this story develops.

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